


The Skeleton Book

by Orchid_Petals



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Artist Papyrus (Undertale), Gen, Magical Artifacts, Mystery, Papyrus-centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:00:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27976998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Orchid_Petals/pseuds/Orchid_Petals
Summary: While selling his artwork in New Home to save up for a Gyftmas present for Sans, Papyrus comes into possession of a mysterious, ornately-decorated book that pulses with magical energy and stirs his curiosity. Its stories are magnificent and sweep his imagination away to another world... a better world, he begins to think, than his reality.When he spends time with the book, hours seem to pass like seconds, and he feels bleary and sick when his attention is broken from the object. This is small price to pay for the wild escape the story grants him from his entrapment Underground and his festering loneliness, so Papyrus doesn't understand why the people in his life are getting so concerned about him.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 27





	The Skeleton Book

Papyrus stood fidgeting behind the little folding table he'd brought to the marketplace, nestled between two large buildings in New Home. He stubbornly maintained what he hoped was a bright, inviting grin to the customers shuffling through the alley, but his eye sockets wandered despondently to the items that remained at his station. A few large canvases propped up behind his booth bore brightly-saturated imagery of how he imagined the Surface to look, constructed from fleeting snatches of his dreams. A stack of smaller canvases, bearing paintings of cars inspired by the magazines he found at the dump, sat atop the table next to a series of small sculptures he'd made.   


Papyrus sighed softly through his nasal cavity. He'd managed to sell more of his work than he'd expected, and if he were only doing it for the pleasure of artmaking or to build a reputation, he'd be ecstatic. Instead, however, he was trying to save up for a telescope as a Gyftmas present for his brother, Sans.   


His older brother adored astronomy, though the closest anyone could get to stargazing in the Underground was gazing up at the glowing crystals embedded into the cave ceiling. The telescope in Waterfall that Sans always used had been knocked over and destroyed by a gaggle of rowdy teens a few weeks ago, and Papyrus could tell that his brother had been feeling down ever since. So, he had vowed to get Sans his own telescope of even higher quality than the one in Waterfall.   


_'I NEED TO DO MUCH BETTER THAN THIS IF I AM TO AFFORD THIS TELESCOPE BEFORE GYFTMAS!'_ Papyrus fretted to himself. _'I'VE MADE ONLY A FRACTION OF WHAT I'LL NEED. SHOULD I OFFER TO MAKE PORTRAITS OR CARICATURES?'_  


"U-um... hello?"  


Papyrus was broken out of his distressed thoughts by a timid voice. He glanced up from his table and met the eyes of a visibly anxious orange cat monster, dressed in a hooded cloak.   


"AH, HELLO THERE!" Papyrus beamed and straightened his posture, placing his hands on his hips. "WOULD YOU LIKE TO PURCHASE ANY OF MY WARES? THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS WILLING TO NEGOTIATE PRICES!"   


"Maybe another time." The cat monster smiled apologetically, and Papyrus tried not to let his smile fall like his heart did.   


"I was actually wondering if you would be willing to take something off of my hands." The cat woman pulled a thick tome from her baggy cloak and presented it to Papyrus. She held the item close and subtly shifted her body in a way that Papyrus assumed was meant to give them a bit of privacy from the other patrons. "Free of charge." She added quickly.  


Papyrus examined the book, and his breath caught in his chest as he took in its appearance. It was bound by deep, gold leather, and bore a beautiful image of a skeleton clad in crystal armor, wielding a sword encased in blue flame. The skeleton was surrounded by seven SOULs, one of every color, and upon further inspection, the entire illustration was embossed.   


"IT'S EXQUISITE, TRULY," Papyrus uttered with a soft smile. "I'M TERRIBLY SORRY, BUT BETWEEN MY MESSY BROTHER AND THAT CONFOUNDING DOG THAT INVITES ITSELF INTO MY HOME, I DOUBT MY HOUSE WOULD BE A SAFE PLACE FOR AN ITEM LIKE THIS. MAYBE-"  


"I'll pay you to take it." The cat monster blurted out, and Papyrus startled at the note of desperation in her voice. "I-I have 300G, and it's yours if you take it. Please."  


Papyrus gulped. With an additional 300G, he'd have nearly enough money to buy a telescope for Sans. However, he was quite alarmed by the urgency in the monster's plea. "THAT IS A VERY GENEROUS OFFER, BUT IF YOU DON'T MIND ME ASKING, WHY ARE YOU SO EAGER TO GET RID OF THIS BOOK? IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S WORTH A LOT OF MONEY!"  


"It..." the cat monster's purple irises darted around, and she exhaled sharply through her nose before lowering her gaze to her feet. "It holds... bad memories... for me. I really don't care about making any money on it. I just want it gone."   


Papyrus' browbones furrowed, and his chest panged with sympathy. "THAT WAS A PERSONAL QUESTION FOR ME TO ASK. I'M SORRY." He offered her a grin. "IN THAT CASE, I'LL TAKE THE BOOK! 300G IS AN INCREDIBLY GENEROUS OFFER, AND I DON'T WANT YOU TO FEEL BURDENED BY BAD MEMORIES!"   


The cat monster's relief was palpable as she beamed at Papyrus, a sparkle alight in her eyes that had been absent before. "I can't thank you enough! Here." She dropped the book onto the table, and Papyrus winced a bit at the unceremonious thud produced by the ornate volume. She reached into her cloak once more and pulled out a pouch with a 'G' printed on the front. It hit the table with the unmistakable jangle of coins, and the cat monster abruptly turned to leave.  


"THANK _YOU_ FOR THE MONEY AND THE LOVELY BOOK!" Papyrus shouted after her, but she quickly slipped through the crowd, pulling her hood tighter over her head only a moment before she disappeared entirely.   


Papyrus looked down at the book that now sat atop his booth. He slid his fingers under it and lifted, and he gasped in shock. A pulse emanated from the weighty tome, rippling up his arms and leaving behind a light buzzing sensation.   


Magical items were common in the underground, but Papyrus had never held one as tangibly powerful as this. His initial idea to let the book sit decoratively on his shelf until he found another owner for it dissolved. He wanted to investigate this object as soon as he got home.   


Papyrus forced himself to tear his gaze from his new acquisition, and he began packing his wares away. He'd made nearly all the money he needed thanks to the lovely cat monster, and he was eager to get home so he could study the book further.

* * *

  
Sans was nowhere to be found when Papyrus arrived at his house, but he locked his bedroom door behind him anyway. After stowing his unsold art in his closet, he climbed onto his bed and slid the book from his satchel, welcoming the strong pulse of magic it emitted as it sat in his lap.   


He traced a phalange around the raised illustration on the cover for a few moments, gazing in awe as the skeleton's armor shimmered like an icicle under firelight. Finally, he cracked the book open to the first page.   


_Papyrus strode through the meadow towards his target, ignoring the tendrils of shrubbery that whipped at his sides and dusted his crystalline armor with powder-blue petals. His sabatons padded across the grass, dealing no damage to the earth below despite their strength. He drew himself to an even greater, more imposing height as he gazed upon his opposition: an army of humans. He drew his arm forward and raised his great, blazing sword into the air..._  


_...And let it drop to the ground between himself and the humans, the blue flames lapping harmlessly at the vegetation._   


_The humans stared at him in bewilderment, and Papyrus held his arms open, delivering his most earnest smile as he spoke._   


_"FRIENDS! THERE IS NO NEED TO FIGHT. MONSTERS DO NOT WISH TO HARM YOU. WE WANT WHAT YOU WANT: A LIFE OF FREEDOM UNDER THE WARMTH OF THE SUN AND THE LIGHT OF THE STARS. WHY FIGHT WHEN WE CAN SHARE THIS WONDERFUL PLACE TOGETHER?"_   


_Papyrus watched as the humans, faces alight with joy and tears of happiness spilling from their eyes, dropped their weapons to their feet. They began to laugh and sing, embracing and twirling one another through the meadow. The air was sweet and the sun was bright and the clouds danced languidly in the sky. Papyrus couldn't get enough of it._   


_"papyrus!"_   


_Papyrus felt something tug at his gauntlet. He turned to see Sans grinning so hard that his cheeks scrunched up with happiness and his eyelights shone._   


_"_ _i'm so proud of you, bro. i never doubted you for a second! wanna come to grillby's with me later? i want to hear all about your ideas for peace between humans and monsters. we really should spend more time together, anyway..."_  


_Papyrus' heart swelled. Sans wanted to spend time with him! He opened his mouth to answer, but before he could utter a word, he felt a powerful hand thump against his back._   


_"NGAHHH, PAPYRUS, THAT WAS SO AWESOME!" Undyne roared into his ear, and Papyrus craned his neck to look at her as she pulled him into a fierce hug. "After that epic display, I've GOTTA let you into the Guard! Hell, I should have done it ages ago!"_   


_Papyrus felt something gently brush up against his shoulder, and he tilted his head to see the shopkeeper from Snowdin smiling serenely at him._   


_"Hey, traveler. What you just did was mighty impressive. Would you like to come by the shop later and do some Junior Jumbles with me? I want a friend like you in my life."_   


_Papyrus beamed so widely that his cheekbones hurt as more and more monsters approached, lauding him for his peaceful display, offering to spend time with him, asking to be friends with him._   


_"Papyrus, can we please walk through the electricity maze together?"_   


_"Papyrus, you should come to my piano recital!"_   


_"Papyrus, want to get coffee with me?"_   


_"Papyrus!"_   


_"Papyrus!"_

* * *

  
"papyrus!"  


Papyrus startled and shrunk away from the door as something pounded against the wood. The book, upset by the sudden movement, fell shut onto the bed. He blinked blearily, feeling as though he'd been roused from a dream.   


"Sans?" Papyrus croaked, then coughed. He was a bit taken aback by how dry his throat felt and how quiet his voice had been. Swallowing, he slipped off the bed to answer the door.  


Papyrus felt mildly lightheaded as he crossed the room, and he took a deep breath to steady himself. He twisted the knob and pushed the door open to reveal an exasperated Sans, looking uncharacteristically alert.   


"pap, i was knocking and calling your name for ages. what gives?"  


Papyrus blinked, surprised by this information. "Oh... um," he cleared his throat, "MY APOLOGIES, BROTHER! I WAS IN A STATE OF IMMENSE CONCENTRATION."  


"oh. neat." Sans visibly relaxed a bit, though he still gazed at Papyrus searchingly.  


After a beat of silence, Papyrus asked, "DID YOU NEED SOMETHING, SANS?"  


Sans quirked a browbone at him. "uh. yeah. aren't we gonna have dinner?"

_'IT'S TIME FOR DINNER ALREADY? I RETURNED HOME AT NOON.'_ Papyrus squinted in confusion, then grimaced as the action brought a strong ache to his skull. He'd been dimly aware of the headache a moment ago, but it had suddenly gotten much worse.   


Concern flickered across Sans' face. "are you alright, pap?"  


Papyrus nodded his head as minutely as possible to avoid aggravating the throbbing in his skull. "YES, OF COURSE! AND I THOUGHT YOU WOULD HAVE GONE TO GRILLBY'S FOR DINNER."  


Sans raised his browbones. "yeah, but today's friday. you said you wanted us to eat dinner together at home on fridays. remember?"  


"OH. OH, RIGHT! YES, OF COURSE." Papyrus closed his eyes in an attempt to bring clarity to his jumbled, clouded thoughts. "THANK YOU FOR REMINDING ME. SHALL WE VENTURE DOWNSTAIRS SO THAT I CAN PREPARE THE SPAGHETTI?"  


Sans nodded, and the brothers descended the stairs. As Papyrus trailed behind him, he shut his eyes against his headache as a wave of unexpected disappointment washed over him.  


Of _course_ that story wasn't real. For all of Papyrus' stubborn optimism, he felt in his bones that monsters would never actually reach the Surface. He was starting to suspect that Undyne was procrastinating on his inauguration into the Royal Guard for reasons beyond the results of their cooking sessions. Most of all, Sans never invited him to Grillby's. Papyrus had asked Sans to eat dinner with him on Fridays because he hardly ever saw him otherwise.   


Distantly, a voice in Papyrus' head told him that Sans reminding him of their little tradition rather than the other way around was actually a victory. On any other day, it may have truly felt like one.   


But tonight, Papyrus just wanted to get through dinner as quickly as possible so he could return to his wonderful new book.   


**Author's Note:**

> I hope you like this story so far! Criticism is welcomed!
> 
> I may add more character/additional tags down the line as I get a clearer idea for where this story is headed.


End file.
